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Novel Ecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities for the Anthropocene

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Novel Ecosystems: Challenges and Opportunities for the Anthropocene ANR0010.1177/2053019616662053The Anthropocene ReviewCollier and Devitt 662053research-article2016 Review The Anthropocene Review 1 –12 Novel ecosystems: Challenges © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: and opportunities for the sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/2053019616662053 Anthropocene anr.sagepub.com Marcus J Collier and Catherine Devitt Abstract Novel ecosystems are ecological assemblages that have emerged in the landscapes of the Anthropocene, where an ecological abiotic or biotic threshold has been passed and can no longer be restored to a previous state. In such landscapes, novelty is attributed to unanticipated rapid anthropogenic environmental change, and deliberate land use practices, and can be characterised by the arrival over time of differing species assemblages and extent. While little has been explored in the literature with respect to the policy implications of novel ecosystems, calls have been made for a better understanding of the barriers to adopting novel ecosystems within mainstream policy. This review reports on a qualitative literature analysis carried out in order to identify the challenges and opportunities for transposing novel ecosystem theory into mainstream policy. Though published debate is still emerging, eleven policy challenges broadly conforming to three themes were identified. Within these themes three opportunity areas were identified, revealing that more focused discussion is required on the wider policy implications of novel ecosystems beyond the stated concerns about lowering standards in ecological conservation. The analysis also shows that there exists a greater understanding of the challenges to transposing novel ecosystems in policy, as opposed to the possible opportunities under current policy timeframes. While a resilience framework has been put forward to offer an outline for policy makers, mechanisms for incorporating novel ecosystem theory into policy and decision making is some distance off. Keywords novel ecosystems, policy-making, resilience Introduction Novel ecosystems refer to the ecological assemblages that have emerged in anthropogenic land- scapes. These are classified as non-historical, non-analogous systems that have moved beyond an abiotic or biotic threshold whereby they can no longer be restored to their previous state (Hallett UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Corresponding author: Policy, University College Dublin, Ireland Marcus J Collier, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin, Richview, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Email: [email protected] Downloaded from anr.sagepub.com at CORNELL UNIV on August 2, 2016 2 The Anthropocene Review et al., 2013). They are therefore deemed ‘novel’, though Murcia et al. (2014) warn that the theory is not yet a substantive replacement for conservation or restoration targets and practices. The driv- ers of novelty are attributable to, for example, unforeseen anthropogenic environmental change, planned and unplanned land conversion, and/or the arrival of new species, either deliberately or accidental (Bridgewater et al., 2011; Hobbs et al., 2006, 2013). In essence, novel ecosystems are the ‘inadvertent consequences of deliberate human actions’ (Perring et al., 2013: 3), yet the longev- ity of these same systems is not dependent on human management (Hallett et al., 2013; Hobbs et al., 2013). The role of human-agency as a driver of ecological change is also important in our understanding. While some estimates put the extent of novel ecosystems on the planet at close to 40% (Ellis et al., 2010; Perring et al., 2013), they remain a contentious issue, regarded by some as potential reservoirs for ecosystem services (Chapin et al., 2006; Perring et al., 2013), whereas for others, a threat to native species populations as well as wider restoration goals to return ecosystems to a prior historical state (Murcia et al., 2014). Part of this contention may relate to the expanding conceptual application of the term, in parallel to difficulties in reaching consensus on its definition and criteria for the identification of novelty (Hobbs et al., 2013; Morse et al., 2014). Social-ecological implications Because of their close association with anthropogenic drivers of rapid change, novel ecosystems usually form part of interlinked socio-ecological systems, potentially providing a range of ecosys- tem services, though a list of cultural ecosystem services has hitherto gone unrecorded (Collier, 2014). As speculated by Hallett et al. (2013), novel ecosystems may prove to be as valuable as historical ecosystems, and perhaps may be exemplars of social-ecological resilience (Collier, 2015). The current approach of managers of ecological systems is to determine how best to stabi- lize trajectories of change which push ecosystems across thresholds (Hobbs et al., 2009) and to subsequently determine how best to ensure legally required or socially desirable ecological assem- blages. While an ideal starting point would be to reduce the extent and influence of anthropogenic change, including mitigation against climate change (Zedler et al., 2012), the limitations of restricted conservation funds and the risks associated with climate change places greater pressure on managers and policy makers to determine how and where intervention in highly modified eco- systems should take place (Hulvey et al., 2013; Moyle, 2014; Trueman et al., 2014). While Murcia et al. (2014) argue that it is unbeneficial to conflate socio-economic and cultural limitations with ecological thresholds, societal interactions with the natural world are shaped by a range of values that come together to shape decision-making processes and preferred ecosystem trajectories (Suding, 2011). This relationship of influence, therefore, makes it difficult to separate ecological thresholds and the management of novel ecosystems from the social, cultural and institutional contexts which determine them (Chapin et al., 2013). This also points towards our lack of knowl- edge of ecosystems, novel or not. In addition to ongoing debates on the social and ecological implications of novel ecosystems, it is becoming more and more essential for ecosystem managers and policy decision makers to understand the ramifications of novelty on species and ecosystems, especially as the pervasive- ness of human-induced environmental change becomes increasingly apparent and ecological thresholds are passed (Jackson, 2013; Kueffer, 2013; Moyle, 2014; Perring et al., 2013). Even in the absence of direct anthropogenic change, it is widely acknowledged that climate change, mani- fested through changing temperatures and precipitation levels as well as range shifts, represents the biggest potential threat to ecosystem change with significant impacts predicted for species ranges and ecological threshold levels (Chen et al., 2011; Grimm et al., 2013; Harris et al., 2006; Downloaded from anr.sagepub.com at CORNELL UNIV on August 2, 2016 Collier and Devitt 3 Starzomski, 2013; Williams and Jackson, 2007; Yamano et al., 2011). Despite differences in agreement concerning the role of climate change in the conceptual definition of novel ecosys- tems, changing indirect anthropogenic external pressures will increase the likelihood that some systems will be pushed beyond ecological thresholds, particularly those in designed and impacted systems (Morse et al., 2014). The likelihood of reversibility and rehabilitation, such as those that drive restoration ecology, may be more and more diminished as demands for an expanding human population and natural resources grow and the impacts of indirect anthropogenic change become more apparent (Belnap et al., 2012; Hobbs et al., 2009). This paper assesses an aspect of the emerging debates on novel ecosystems. It takes as its starting point the likelihood that in the Anthropocene novel ecosystems will concurrently occupy and frustrate policy making. Though the debate is emerging, and the literature is scant with respect to rigorous assessment, it is none- theless necessary to ascertain whether novel ecosystems theory may be transposed into policy. This paper contends that transposing novel ecosystems into policy discourses could provide opportunities in which the concept can move from being predominantly a concern for the natural sciences, to being a wider societal issue. This may provide the opportunity for greater dialogue on how novel ecosystems are defined and categorised as well as an acknowledgement of the some of the benefits which novel ecosystems present. Utility of the novel ecosystems theory A rapidly growing body of work is now emerging documenting the usefulness of taking a novel ecosystem approach when restoration to a historical reference point is not feasible. To illustrate, Doley and Audet (2013) provide the example of mining sites as post-disturbance heavily altered landscapes, with little parallels to natural reference points. They argue that new ecosystems in these post-industrial landscapes ‘can provide levels of stability and functionality acceptable to all stakeholders and within feasible management regimes’ (p. 3). While a novel ecosystem may mani- fest dominant sets of species that change community structure and function (Abelleira Martínez et al., 2009), they may also replace lost functions, promote native species; offer new ecosystem services that have either been previously unidentified or quantified; or potentially new services hitherto unavailable (Lin and Petersen, 2013).
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